The Town of Farragut has been looking for the best solution to connect Andover subdivision to Everett Road with a greenway or sidewalk.

During a Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen workshop Thursday, Aug. 9, Board members favored a hybrid plan of the Town’s options combined with Andover residents’ requests.

Still, Alderman Louise Povlin said she would like Andover’s HOA notified and get its input before the Board takes action.

“In this hybrid plan, a pedestrian facility would extend through the (Homeowners Association) property adjacent to its entrance, thereby saving the trees along Smith Road, and then it would be situated along Smith Road and extend to Everett Road,” Povlin said. “The BOMA, Town staff and the Andover HOA board members agree that running a trail between the existing homes in Andover and the detention basin was a great concern and should be avoided.”

Town administrator David Smoak said Town staff has been negotiating with Andover subdivision HOA regarding the project since last summer.

“This is an empty link we have been trying to connect from Andover Boulevard and along Smith Road to get to Everett Road (walking trail),” he said, adding there are a few concepts under consideration.

“One was an arrangement to go through their open space between Andover Boulevard and a new house at 634 Smith Road, Smoak said.

“Then, we talked about a trail possibly going above the detention basin near the houses, wrapping that around and coming to the sidewalk, all the way to Everett Road,” he said.

A third option is to put in a curb-and-gutter sidewalk all the way from Andover Boulevard, through the right-of-way and all the way to Everett Road.

“There have been various conversations (with Andover HOA) on how we need to proceed forward,” he said. “What we are trying to do is save (four) trees with that trail, which would go behind the trees. That way, there’s still that tree buffer between the road and the trail.”

Putting in a sidewalk “would wipe out all those trees,” said Chris Sharp, the engineer doing all the studies on the project.

Smoak said Povlin recently talked to Andover HOA members. “So their concept would be to build the trail through the open space, come down to the 634 Smith Road property and then do a curb-and-gutter sidewalk to Everett Road,” he said.

The HOA also asked to have a 5-foot sidewalk section from Andover Boulevard to the first tree line, then transfer to a 10-foot trail and come back to a 5-foot sidewalk.

“They want it to look consistent on both sides of their entrance,” Povlin said. “They are concerned that having a sidewalk on one side and trail on the other would look incongruous when you drive in.”

“Typically, we have sidewalk connecting all the way or trail connecting all the way,” Smoak said.

He noted the Town could do the sidewalk right now, but the easement would take more negotiations.

“I didn’t have a problem with them asking (for the sidewalk, trail, sidewalk concept) if it’s not a difficult transition,” Povlin said. “Personally, I get what they are trying to go after.”

After a lengthy discussion, the Board agreed to build a sidewalk rather than a trail all the way.However, “I think in a perfect world, you would have a 10-foot trail from one end to the other, but at Andover, it’s going to go to a 5-foot sidewalk anyway,” Alderman Bob Markli said.

In other business, the Board discussed a rough draft of the Americans with Disabilities Act self-assessment results it received from the engineering firm, Kimley-Horn.

The results listed the areas in Town where it is non-compliant. In the next couple weeks, Kimley-Horn will draw up the transition plan, which is being coordinated by the Town’s ADA coordinator Janet Curry, Smoak said.